Suction cleaner



C. H. SPARKLJN SUCTION CLEANER Dec. 8, 1936.

5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed OCt, lO, 1955 we @j Dec. 8, 1936. l f c. H. sPARKLlN 2,063,062 y sUCTIoN CLEANER Filed Oct. lO, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Das 1936 C. H. SPAR v KLIN 2,063,062 SUCTION CLEANER Filed OC. l0, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Dec. 8, 1936 UNITED STATES v SUCTION CLEANER Charles H. Sparklin, Chicago,v Ill., assignor to Birtman Electric Company, Chicago,

poration of Illinois Ill., a cor- Application October 10, 1935, Serial No. 44,432

8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in suction cleaners and, more especially, to that type of cleaner provided with a nozzle that is vertically adjustable with respect to the surface of the material being cleaned.

It is well known that suction cleaners of the type here under consideration are most generally used for cleaning rugs, carpets and the like, a1- though, of course, they are also used for cleaning bare hardwood floors, linoleum and other surfaces. In connection with the cleaning of carpets. however, materials of varying thickness and softness are encountered; and, consequently, it has been found advisable to provide the cleaner with a vertically adjustable nozzle so that when operating on a carpet that is relatively thick and soft where the wheels sink in to a relatively great extent, the nozzle can be vertically adjusted upwardly so that in the cleaning of such carpet, the mouth of the nozzle will not be too close to the fabric or bear too much thereon. Contrariwise, when operating upon a thin hard. carpet or on a bare floor, or linoleum, or the like, where the wheels do not sink in to any perceptible extent, it has been found advisable to adjust the nozzle vertically downwardly so thatv it will be in proper position with respect to the surface being cleaned. Likewise, in operating upon carpets of this thickness, it hasbeenfound that vertical adjustment of the nozzle is necessary or desirable.

I'he principal feature of my invention'is the provision of means for automatically adjusting the nozzle, depending upon the character of the material being cleaned.

In general, it may be stated that this is accomplished by providing a pilot, in the nature of a relatively light member that will float on the surface of the material being cleaned. One or more of the wheels of the cleaner, however, will sink into the material to a certainV extent below its surface, depending upon the nature of the material itself. I also provide means for verticallyadjusting the nozzle and power means for operating said adjusting means. vI also provide `a. connection between the pilot and the power means whereby the power means will be operated under. control of the pilot so that the nozzle will be adjusted vertically by and in accordance with the movements of said pilot. In other words, there will always be an automatic adjustment of the nozzle to the proper height, depending upon the character of the material being cleaned and the extent to which the supporting wheels of the cleaner sink into such material below its surface. v

Other features and advantages of my invention will appear more fully as I proceed withzmy specicatiom I i In that form of device embodying the features of my invention shown in the accompanying drawingsy Y Figure 1 is a View in side elevation, partly in ,-section; Fig. 2 is a fragmentarytop plan' view; Fig. 3` is a bottom plan view; Fig. 4 is a' view taken as indicated by the line 4'4 of Fig. y1; Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of the-pilot member and the adjacent wheel; Fig. 6 is a wiring diagram; and Figs. 7 and 8 'are diagrammatic views.

Cleaners with vertically adjustable nozzles of various types have heretofore been made in which means are provided for vertically adjusting the nozzle with respect to the carriage, depending upon the thickness, character and type of surface being cleaned. Various means have been provided also for manually` effectingsuch adjustment. It is to be understood that my invention may be used in virtually any form of such cleaner. foradjusting the nozzle may have a variety of forms. The principal feature of my invention is -the automatic control of said adjusting means by a pilot floating on the surface of thematerial being cleaned so thatthe nozzle will always be automatically adjusted by and in accordance with the extent of sink of one or more wheels ofthe cleaner into the material below its surfacel or by and in accordance with relative movement of said pilot wlthrespect to one of the supporting wheels of the cleaner, or by and in accordance with the character, thickness, orfsoftness of the material being cleaned.

As shown in the drawings, the cleaner may be of a conventional type supported by'two front wheels I0, I0EL and two rear wheels Il, II. The nozzle is indicated by l2.. As here shown, vertical adjustment of the` nozzle is effected by'raising or lowering the rear wheels I I, ,I I. This pivots the entire cleaner on the axis I3 of the front wheels to raise or lower the-mouth |29 ofthe nozzle I 2. As here shown, adjustmentr of the rear wheels` II, II is effected by means of the screw I4 operating in a worm wheel I5 controlledby the worm I6 on the shaft Vof the reversible motor Il. The lower end ofv the screw I4 is pivotally attached at Ha to the arm-I9 carrying one of the rear wheels Il, said arm being pivoted at 20. Rotation ofthe worm IB bythereversible motor Il will rotate the worm wheel I5 to raise or i That is, the particular means provided lower the screw I4 to raise or lower the wheels IIl II to vertically adjust the nozzle I2.

The pilot member is 'indicated by 25 and is utilized for measuring the degree of sink of one of the wheels to thus control operation of the motor I1 to effect the necessary vertical adjustment of the nozzle. It is preferable, of course, to

control the nozzle by the sink of one of the front wheels, vsince they'ordinarily carry more weight than the rear wheels. It is also desirable toy place the pilot in close proximity to one of these front wheels as this will `give a truer measurement of the 'actual sink of the wheel into the material below its surface. One of the wheels and the pilot member or float is shown in perspective in Fig. 5; I0 indicates the wheel, the pilot member being in the shape of a cylindrical shell lof light thin sheet metal, indicated by 25. This shell is pivoted at 25, 25 in the fork 21 carried by the cleaner and has a portion out away, as indicated at 28, to accommodate the support v29 for the wheel I0. 'I'he pilot is large enough so that it is free to move up and down relativeto thevwheel. 30 indicates a light spring preferably employed to hold the pilot 25 down on the surface of thematerial being cleaned. -Tlns spring is very light, however, and the pilot itself is very light in weight so that it will float substantially on the surface of the material being cleaned. That is, it will sink into kthe material only to a very small extent, if'at all,

and 4not nearly as much into soft material as the Vwheel I will sink. It ls-to be noted, alsothat the lower surface ofthe pilot 25, as indicated by tion. Y

' able area, thus preventing the pilot from sinking into the surface of even soft thick carpets to any perceptible extent.f As here shown, the spring 'III is. connected to an ear 3| on the pilot at one end, the other end of the spring being connected to a' suitabley lug 32 carried by the cleaner.

The pilot 25 is provided with an ear 33 at the top to which is pivotally connected the bar. 34 having a pivotedextension 34 carrying a bar 35 with the two contacts 36 and 31. See Figure 6. This bar-35 is slidably mounted in a slidable switch box 38 carrying. the contacts 33, 40, 4| Vand 42. As has been stated, the switch box 38 55.

is itself slidable Vand carried on the end of a screw 43 in the bevel gear 44. 'I'he latter vmeshes with another bevel gear 45 on the lower end of the shaft 46 carrying the worm wheel 41 which also is operated by the worm I6 on the motor shaft. See Figure 7.

A general description of the operation of the device will be helpful in understanding the inven- The readeris referredparticularly to Figures 6 and '7. -It may be stated generally that Y the reversible motor I1 is supplied with power from the lines 50. The motor is-seriesvwound,

f indicating vthe armature and 52, the field. It will be seen from the wiring diagram of Figure 6 that the direction of current throughY the yfield 52 will be reversed, depending upon whether contacts 33 and 40 are connected or contacts 4| and 42.

The member 35 connects the contacts 36 and 31 to form a bridging member. It will be seen, therefore, that movement of the bridging member 35 vto the right (as viewed in Figure 6) will connect Athe very top oi' the fabric.

contacts 4I and 42 to operate the motor in one direction, whereas its movement to the left to connect the contacts 39 and 4I) will operate the motor in the reverse direction. When it is in the mid position, as shown in Fig. 6, the motor will not operate at all. It will be seen also, especially by reference to Figure 7, that rotation of the motor I6 not only raises or lowers the back wheels, but also, operating through the worm wheel 41, bevel gears 45 and 44 and screw 43, will move the switch box 38 carrying the contacts 39, 40, 4I and 42. The parts are so connected and proportioned'that movement of the pilot will slide the extension 34 to cause the bridging member 35 to start the motor in one direction or the other, depending upon whether the pilot moves upwardly or downwardly relatively to the adjacent wheel I IJ. This will start operation of the motor I1 to commence to effect the desired adjustment of the nozzle and this operation of the motor, as above described, will also move the switch box 38 to break the contact madeA by the bridging member 35. If f thepilot member continues to move, of course, the motor will continue to operate. When the pilot no longer continues to move, it will be seen that the member 35 will no longer make contact and the motor will, therefore, stop, leaving the nozzlev I2 inthe correct position. It is to be understood that the bridging member isvadaptd -to make sliding contact with the contactpoints 39, 40, 4I and 42, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. sov as to permit some extra movement of the bridging -member after contact is first made. After contact is made, the box will be moved in the same direction -by operation of the motor, such movement continuing over the sliding contacts until the contacts are completely broken, whereupon the motor` will stop. Consek quently, the motor will continue to operate until the box 38 has moved far enough to break the contact. The motor willthen stop, leaving the nozzle adjusted at the correct height for Vthe position of thel pilot with respect to the wheel.

In general, it may be stated that up and down movement of the pilot with respect to the wheel III will cause the bridging member to make contact to cause operation of the motor I1 to adjust the nozzle upwardly or downwardly and far enough until the bridging member 35 is not making contact at either side, at which point operation of the motor I1 will stop and leave the nozzle adjusted to the correct height.

'I'he operation ofthe pilot is shown in Fig. 4,

where a rather thick soft carpet is indicated by |31. That is, the carpet has a rather thick pile. It will be seen that the `wheel IIIis sinking into the carpet below its surface to a considerable extent, while the pilot 25 is ridingor floating substantially on the surface. By the surface is meant y Thus the pilot 25 is resting .substantially/on the upper ends of the threads forming the pile' without bending them over or crushing them down to anyconsiderable extent. As stated, however, the wheel .I0 sinks down into the carpet below'its topmost surface to a considerable extent and the extent of this sink of the wheel Inv with respect tothe vertical position of thepilot 25 is what controls operation bodiments of my invention, it is to be understoodA that itis capable of many modifications. Changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from I5 the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the appended claims, in which it is my intention to claim all novelty inherent in my invention as broadly as permissible, in view of the prior art.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In combination with a suction cleaner having supporting Wheels and a nozzle vertically adjustable with respect to the surface of the material being cleaned, means for automatically adjusting said nozzle by and in accordance with the degree of sink of one of said wheels into said material below its surface.

2. In combination with a suction cleaner having supporting wheels and a nozzle vertically adjustable with respect to the surface of the material being cleaned, motor means for adjusting said nozzle, motor controlling means operated by the degree of sink of one of said wheels into thematerial below its surface, and a connection between said motor means and said motor controlling means whereby the nozzle is automatically adjusted by and in accordance with the degree of sink of said wheel.

3. In combination with a suction cleaner having supporting wheels and a nozzle vertically adjustable with respect to the surface of thel material being cleaned, a pilot adapted to float substantially on the surface of the material being cleaned, motor means for vertically adjusting the nozzle, and means for controlling said motor means by and in accordance with the relative vertical movement of said pilot and said wheels.

4. In combination with a suction cleaner having supporting wheels and a nozzle vertically adjustable with respect to the surface of the material being cleaned, a pilot adjacent one of said wheels adapted to oat substantially on the surface of the material being cleaned, motor means for vertically adjusting the nozzle, and means for controlling said motor means by and in accordance with relative vertical movement of said pilot and said Wheels.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which the pilot is provided with a. curved lower surface.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, in which the pilot is provided with a curved lower surface.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which the pilot is substantially cylindrical.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, in which the pilot is substantially cylindrical and partially surrounds said wheel.

CHARLES H. SPARKLIN. 

